"All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure." - Ephesians 1:3-5

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Last night I checked on the girls before I went to bed. After making sure the older two were covered, I peeked in on the baby. She was asleep with her thumb in her mouth. Too cute! We may have problems in the future breaking this habit. For now, we have a cute little thumb sucker which makes for a happy baby!

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Dad loved Christmas so much. To think of him saying these types of things to me are a comfort. I do believe his perspective is different now. He must see things in a whole new way. He's with Jesus. What a way to spend Christmas. Couldn't get better than that, huh Dad? Actually it can. Just wait until that Christmas when we all get to be with Jesus together!

I see the countless Christmas treesAround the world below,With tiny lights like heaven's starsReflecting in the snow.

The sight is so spectacularplease wipe away that tearfor I am spending CHRISTMASWITH JESUS CHRIST this year.

I hear the many Christmas songsthat people hold so dearbut the sound of music can't comparewith the CHRISTMAS CHOIR up here.

I have no words to tell youof the JOY their voices bringfor it is beyond descriptionto HEAR THE ANGELS SING.

I know how much you miss me,I see the pain inside your heartfor I am spending CHRISTMASWITH JESUS CHRIST this year.

I can't tell you of the SPLENDORor the PEACE here in this placeCan you just imagine CHRISTMASWITH OUR SAVIOR face to face

I'll ask him to lift your spiritas I tell him of your loveso then PRAY FOR ONE ANOTHERas you lift your eyes above.

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

On the ride home last night, I heard the lyrics to a song I don't believe I've heard before. It applied to my heart this year.

I think of loved ones who’ve passed awayAnd I pray their resting in a better placeI think of memories of years gone byAnd sometimes Christmas makes me cry

I think of soldiers across the seaSometimes I wonder its them instead of meFor my freedom they give their livesAnd sometimes Christmas makes me cry

Tears of thankfulness, tears of hopeI cry tears of joy at Christmas cause I knowThere is peace on earth for every heart to findAnd sometimes Christmas makes me cry

I think of families, I think of homeAnd say a prayer for those who spend this time aloneCause love can reach out into a silent nightAnd that’s why Christmas makes me cry

Tears of thankfulness, tears of hopeI cry tears of joy at Christmas cause I knowThere is peace on earth for every heart to findAnd sometimes Christmas makes me cry

I think of Mary and the virgin birthAnd I’m amazed at how much God thinks we’re worthThat He would send His only Son to dieAnd sometimes Christmas makes me cry

Tears of thankfulness, tears of hopeI cry tears of joy at Christmas cause I knowThere is peace on earth for every heart to findAnd sometimes Christmas makes me cry

This morning I cried. Dad's chair will be empty at the breakfast table this morning. Rod's dad won't greet us with herring, cheese, sardines and hardtack Christmas morning. There are clouds overshadowing Andelise's first Christmas. We are going to have to be intentional about focusing on the true meaning of Christmas as well as on our kids so that the floodgates of tears don't pour open these next couple of days.

It will be easy to focus on the sadness. I'm a traditionalist and if you've been following my blog, you know how important traditions are to me. Dad set up a lot of traditions. This year we're breaking many of them. Well, maybe breaking isn't a great word. Starting new ones. Things are different. In order to cope, we are starting new traditions this year. It's going to be some difficult days now as the busyness of preparation is over and Christmas is here.

I take comfort in knowing that God came near. He became human for us. Immanuel. He understands every pain we endure. Jesus wept. He knows what it is like to lose somebody we love.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

I decided that since it's been over a year since I started this blog, I should probably get a picture of Rod & I up. It's not that my husband isn't important to me, it's just that we didn't really have any pictures handy on the computer to post.

So, there he is to the right. It's last September when he threw me that surprise 30th birthday party a couple of months early. Truly, one of my fondest memories!

It's December 14th already? Truly, it seems as though December, in particular, is a balancing act. How much can you fit into a day and how can you prioritize it to make certain every minute counts? There are deadlines to be met. Every day is a countdown to a Christmas gathering or Christmas day itself. We attempt to see how little sleep we can get by on so we can cram just a little more into the day. It's necessary to pay attention to the food we eat so we aren't mindlessly adding to our waistline. I've heard that "the average American will gain at least five pounds of body fat during the holidays". I certainly don't want to be average or above average in this case. Balance during this season is extremely difficult to find.

Yesterday was one of those days where I had crammed too much into the previous week, was lacking sleep and ate like there was no tomorrow. Today, I feel rested. (I wonder if that could be related to actually going to sleep at a decent hour?) Because I have that restfulness, I don't feel as much stress. I do, however, feel "blah" from my eating binge yesterday. My joints all feel swollen from the water retention resulting from all the salty foods I inhaled. My mouth feels like I can't possibly drink enough water to satisfy my thrist and the scale says I put on that five pounds of holiday fat in one day! In all seriousness, I know I didn't gain five pounds yesterday. One day of eating right will correct the scale to bring it a little closer to reality.

Today, I'm going to make certain I get some rest again. I cannot possibly get through another week without it. I'm going to eat healthy. My focus is to get five fruits and/or vegetables in today and track what I eat while I am certain to drink enough glasses of water. And last, but certainly not least, I am going to ask God for help through my day. Why is it so easy to prioritize Him right out of our lives when things get busy even though He should be at the top of the list?

This season is supposed to be about God. I need to be certain I don't forget Him or intentionally push Him aside.

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About Me

Over the years, I have struggled with finding my identity. At times I've looked to my husband, my daughters, my parents and extended family, even friends. Lately, the importance of finding my identity in God alone has been extreme. Looking to anyone else for my identity has caused me great heartache and confusion. Being God's child gives me a solid forever identity that will not change.

Micah 6:8

And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Will You Love Jesus More?

Will you love Jesus more when we go our different ways?When this moment is a memory will you remember His face?Will you look back and realizeyou sensed His love more than you did before?I'd pray for nothing less than for you to love Jesus more!